The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Atlanta for the second time this season with the Quaker State 400 on June 28 at EchoPark Speedway.

A rare Saturday night race in 2025 will feature the unique pack racing that Atlanta has featured over the last few years.

In February, Christopher Bell won just ahead of Carson Hocevar and Kyle Larson in a chaotic final lap.

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Two things will be of central focus on Saturday night: The playoff picture and the in-season tournament. Nine races remain in the regular season, and 11 drivers have won this year. The playoff cutline has narrowed to put drivers like Alex Bowman and Bubba Wallace at risk of missing out.

Saturday’s race will also be the first round of the in-season tournament, with 32 drivers in 16 head-to-head matchups. The in-season tournament will be a battle within the normal race, with matchups decided by the final race results. We’ll be keeping tabs all night long.

Follow along with our live race updates, with green flag set for after 6 p.m. CT on Saturday.

ATLANTA RACE PICKS: NASCAR Atlanta predictions 2025: Expert picks for Cup Series race

NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta: Live updates, highlights, live leaderboard for the Quaker State 400

LIVE LEADERBOARD: Full field leaderboard of NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400

Chase Elliott wins at Atlanta!

Chase Elliott gets a run coming to the white flag, then slides past Brad Keselowski for the lead in turn 1. Alex Bowman got alongside Keselowski for second instead of pushing the 6, and Elliott wins unabated at the line. What a final 20 laps.

Lap 252: Intense racing

Alex Bowman and Zane Smith are trading the lead up front, with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Brad Keselowski behind. All four will be desperate to win.

Lap 232: Brad Keselowski preserves the lead for now

Brad Keselowski preserves the lead with a big-time push from Chris Buescher, while Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman can’t imagine the same.

Lap 228: Justin Haley, Ty Dillon push too hard

Ty Dillon tags Justin Haley while attempting to side draft, and Haley spins. Caution is out. Take a breather. Brad Keselowski leads Chase Elliott.

Haley is being hauled back to the garage area. He was running inside the top 10, and as mentioned below, was a willing pusher for other Chevys up front. He was in an in-season matchup with Ty Gibbs, who remains in the top 10.

Lap 226: Justin Haley, Ty Dillon looking like the best pushers

Chris Buescher is a willing pusher to teammate/owner Brad Keselowski, but Justin Haley and Ty Dillon are pushing well too.

Lap 211: RFK Racing cars determined late

Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher are quite the tandem to deal with on restarts, as Buescher again shoves Keselowski ahead of Chase Elliott for the lead.

Lap 203: David Starr brings out the caution

David Starr is stalled on pit road, and the caution is back out. Chase Elliott had just been passed by Brad Keselowski as the caution waved, but Elliott will hold onto the lead.

Lap 201: Chase Elliott holds the lead

Chase Elliott holds the lead on the restart, but Brad Keselowski certainly looks fast enough to make a mark late in this race.

Lap 196: Erik Jones spins

Erik Jones spins through turns 3 and 4, and the caution is out. Chase Elliott had just passed Ryan Preece and cleared him at the front.

Bubba Wallace is still running, just two laps down after that contact and caution a few laps ago.

Lap 194: Ryan Preece takes the lead on the restart

Ryan Preece leads Ty Gibbs and others off of the restart, but Chase Elliott is working the low lane.

Lap 185: Caution for Bubba Wallace

Bubba Wallace, back on the lead lap, spins down the backstretch. He hits the inside wall, and he may be done for the day.

Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick and Brad Keselowski will pit along with some others. They won’t have to save fuel the rest of the way, while the others may still have to especially if there’s overtime.

Tyler Reddick is penalized for driving through too many pit boxes.

Lap 177: Caution for SVG

Shane van Gisbergen spins after contact through the frontstretch. Caution is out.

Some cars stay out, like Alex Bowman, Brad Keselowski and Chase Elliott. Most pit.

Tyler Reddick wins Stage 2

Tyler Reddick wins Stage 2 by 0.001 seconds over Chase Elliott as they traded the lead. Reddick gets his first playoff point of the season.

The top 10:

1. Tyler Reddick
2. Chase Elliott
3. Chris Buescher
4. Alex Bowman
5. Erik Jones
6. Ty Dillon
7. Shane van Gisbergen
8. John Hunter Nemechek
9. Zane Smith
10. Brad Keselowski

That was close between Reddick and Elliott at the start-finish line.

Lap 153: Chase Elliott to the lead

Chase Elliott clears Tyler Reddick through turns 3 and 4 to re-take the lead. 7 laps to go in the second stage. Things are calmer up front for now.

Lap 163: Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, Chris Buescher jockeying up front

Alex Bowman leads Chase Elliott and Chris Buescher with less than 20 to go in the second stage, with Erik Jones trying to be aggressive behind them.

Lap 120: Alex Bowman to the lead

Alex Bowman and Tyler Reddick trade the lead over the first couple laps after the restart. Stage 2 ends on Lap 160.

Lap 111: Caution for Riley Herbst, Todd Gilliland

Riley Herbst loses control suddenly as Chase Elliott rides alongside him in the top five, and Herbst slaps the outside wall before collecting Todd Gilliland.

Herbst will need major repairs.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will get a toe-link repair during this caution. Carson Hocevar is back on the lead lap.

Lap 104: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has issue

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. gets into the wall with Erik Jones, and Stenhouse reports an issue.

Lap 88: Aggression still high

The door is wide open for a non-winner to get their first victory of the season, so the aggression is high even with 172 laps to go. Chris Buescher leads Tyler Reddick and Chase Elliott. 21 cars in the lead pack right now.

Lap 77: Back to green

Ty Gibbs gets a good push to take the lead ahead of Chris Buescher. Everyone came in during the caution for fuel and/or tires.

Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch are among the drivers involved in the last crash still on the lead lap.

Running list of drivers done for the day after major crash

NASCAR reported 23 cars involved, but didn’t list Alex Bowman. That number could change. Among those who are done for the day:

Many teams are trying to repair very damaged race cars.

Lap 69: The Big One!

We haven’t seen the big one at Atlanta until now. Denny Hamlin gets off-kilter off the bumper of John Hunter Nemechek, and Hamlin and Ross Chastain spin across the whole field. Everyone from about eighth place on is involved. This will be a lengthy caution.

Chase Elliott stayed out during the stage break and is the leader.

The list of cars involved:

Red flag is out. There are more cars involved than what is listed.

Austin Cindric wins Stage 1

Austin Cindric was ahead of Brad Keselowski at the time of caution, so he bags another playoff point.

The top 10:

1. Austin Cindric
2. Brad Keselowski
3. Joey Logano
4. William Byron
5. Carson Hocevar
6. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
7. Josh Berry
8. Shane van Gisbergen
9. Chase Elliott
10. Bubba Wallace

Bubba Wallace was involved in the crash, and it appeared that SVG and Chase Elliott passed him as he drove away. We’ll see if that is adjusted. (NOTE: That was adjusted.)

Lap 58: Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell involved in crash

Christopher Bell spins through turns 3 and 4, collecting Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace and others. Kyle Busch may have been up against the wall too. AJ Allmendinger also involved.

Blaney is out of his car, and likely done for the day. Note that Blaney is in a first round matchup against Carson Hocevar in the in-season tournament. (Blaney was my pick to win it all.) Blaney will finish 40th, so Hocevar will advance.

Lap 49: Back to green

Six cars stay out, including leader Joey Logano. But Logano and Austin Cindric are side by side for the lead. Cindric actually has the advantage but is not clear.

Engines re-firing

After a short delay, NASCAR tells drivers to re-fire engines. Yellow flag is back out.

Lap 44: Red flag for rain

NASCAR has displayed the red flag as the rain persists around the track. NASCAR also tells the drivers to stay in their cars as the jet dryers work on the track.

Lap 37: Caution for rain

Caution is out for rain. The pace car reports to NASCAR a “light, steady rain”. We’ll see if this causes a red flag.

Joey Logano remains the leader. “The track is good,” the pace car driver tells NASCAR officials on the radio.

Chase Elliott was earlier complaining of a loose race car and tells his team to give him something. Other drivers are also asking for adjustments. Reminder: these teams did not get a practice session this weekend.

Lap 30: Carson Hocevar showing off early again

Carson Hocevar is up inside the top 10 and being ultra-aggressive in passing other cars three-wide. Joey Logano remains the leader, but the aggression is rising.

Lap 11: Calm so far up front

Last night in the Xfinity Series race, there was a multi-car crash in the first five laps. That’s not going to happen tonight in a 400-mile race with this group of veteran drivers.

The first seven cars are single file up front, led by Joey Logano. They are also all Fords, with Alex Bowman in eighth the only non-Ford in the top 10. 60 laps in the first stage.

Carson Hocevar is the top mover so far, up 11 spots from starting 30th.

Lap 1: Green flag at Atlanta!

Green flag at Atlanta, and Joey Logano gets the edge and clears Josh Berry down the backstretch.

Two things to watch….

Two things to watch tonight: The playoff picture and the in-season tournament. Given the pack-racing element, it’s going to be a fluid situation with the 16 first-round matchups in the in-season challenge. But a driver that has trouble will be something we’ll note throughout the night. Who’s your inaugural in-season tournament winner?

POINTS COMING INTO TONIGHT: NASCAR points standings: Cup Series points update after Pocono race

IN-SEASON BRACKET: NASCAR in-season tournament bracket: First round matchups, driver seeds set

About ready to fire the cars at Atlanta

Y’all won’t mind if I continue to call EchoPark Speedway Atlanta, will you? The drivers are getting into their cars, and the command to fire engines is upcoming soon. Should be a very interesting night, as long as the weather dodges the 1.5-mile track in central Georgia.

Joey Logano on the pole; full NASCAR Cup Series Atlanta starting lineup

Joey Logano is on the pole for the Quaker State 400, with the top eight spots taken by Fords.

The top 10:

1. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
2. Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
3. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
4. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
5. Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
6. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
7. Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford
8. Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford 
9. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
10. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Find the full starting lineup here.

NASCAR race radio coverage: How to listen to NASCAR Cup race at Atlanta

The Great American Getaway 400 will be aired on the radio by the Performance Racing Network. PRN has affiliates all across the country, and their feed can also be streamed on NASCAR.com as well as the NASCAR app. The race can also be heard on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

NASCAR Atlanta race TV schedule, start time

The Quaker State 400 will be broadcast nationally on TNT. Other streaming options for the race include MAX for in-car cameras for each driver.

Recent NASCAR Cup Series winners at Atlanta

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta: Live updates, highlights, leaderboard for the Quaker State 400